The St. Louis Cardinals will square off against their division rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. The matchup will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET and Fox Sports Midwest will be televising the game.
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Odds
The Cardinals have gone 7-7 SU this year and are 7-6 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 2.5 units for moneyline gamblers this year and 0.0 units ATS. The Reds are 2-11 SU and 5-7 ATS. The team has lost 7.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 3.9 units ATS.
Cincinnati games have an over/under record of 6-6 so far in 2018. Cardinals games have gone over seven times, gone under six times and pushed on zero occasions.
The Cardinals have gained 0.8 units and are 2-1 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in one of those games, compared to two that’ve hit the under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Reds have lost 5.7 units and are 4-6 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s cashed in five of those games, compared to five that went under the total.
Miles Mikolas (1-0, 6.00 ERA) will get the nod for the visiting Cardinals. The right-handed Mikolas did not accumulate any Major League pitching stats in 2017.
The Reds have tabbed lefty Brandon Finnegan as their starter. Finnegan struck out 16 hitters in 13 innings last year (4 starts). Finnegan finished the season 1-1 overall with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP.
As a unit, Cincinnati’s pitching staff has given up 6.4 runs per game overall in 2018. The team’s starters have a 5.64 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 6.61 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 8.5 K/9. In seven games against divisional foes, Reds starters have an ERA of 6.43 and the bullpen’s ERA is 6.48.
Cincinnati’s offense is putting up 3.2 runs per outing, including 2.9 per game against divisional foes and 3.2 per game over its last five. The team’s hit .223/.288/.286 over its last five matchups and is 0-5 SU during that span.
The Reds’ hitters have been led by third baseman Eugenio Suarez and catcher Tucker Barnhart. Suarez is slashing .296/.424/.630 with eight hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored, and Barnhart’s line is .267/.405/.433 with eight hits, two RBIs and three runs.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .260/.367/.461, Suarez enjoyed hitting against righty pitching at home in 2017, slashing .279/.380/.604 over 229 such plate appearances.
In the other dugout, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 3.8 runs per game and its starters own a 3.79 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 8.50 K/9. The bullpen has a solid ERA of just 3.17, along with a K-per-9 of 9.68.
Cardinals hitters have slashed .249/.327/.411 on their way to 4.6 runs scored per game this year, including 5.9 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.8 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).
St. Louis’ hitters have been led by first baseman Jose Martinez and right fielder Tommy Pham. Martinez is hitting .375/.446/.604 with 18 hits, 14 RBIs and four runs scored, while Pham (.294/.410/.451) is up to 15 hits, two homers, four RBIs and 13 runs scored.
Martinez seemed to enjoy hitting left-handed pitching on the road last year. Across 44 such plate appearances, he maintained a slash line of .474/.545/.895 (compared to his overall season line of .309/.379/.518).
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Reds, ATS Winner – Cardinals, O/U – OVER
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last seven games.
The Reds have lost eight of their last nine games SU.
Cincinnati has posted 17.7 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 18.8 over its last five.
The Cardinals have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games, including eight over their last five.
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